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Signs strategic partnerships in South and Central Asia with Nepal’s Himalayan Bank and Nepal Airlines, and Kazakhstan’s Air Astana,

2C2P enables South and Central Asian retailers, businesses and merchants to tap into Asia’s e-commerce boom with safe, secure and reliable payment services

2C2P, the leading Southeast Asian payments company, has inked strategic partnerships in South and Central Asia to bring e-commerce capabilities to some of the region’s largest merchants. It will process online and offline payment transactions for Himalayan Bank Limited (HBL), Nepal’s largest private bank, Nepal Airlines, the national flag carrier of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, and Air Astana, the principal airline and flag carrier of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

HBL is Nepal’s leading private sector commercial bank, with 42 branches across the country. Supported by 2C2P’s payments technology, debit and credit card holders of HBL can now transact internationally and domestically with merchants who accept Visa, MasterCard, JCB, Unionpay International and Diners Club International. Separately, customers of flag carriers Nepal Airlines and Air Astana can purchase their flight tickets online, securely and conveniently – modernizing what was previously a manual, cash-based process.

Aung Kyaw Moe, founder and Group CEO of 2C2P, said: “South and Central Asia’s technology and financial landscape is fast-evolving. These young financial markets present huge opportunities to businesses to tap into e-commerce, opening new revenue streams among new and existing customers.

“We’re pleased to be working with some of the leading retailers in these regions to take advantage of key economic and demographic trends around e-commerce adoption, rising urbanization and consumer affluence, and the boom in South and Central Asia’s travel and tourism sector,” added Aung.

Ashoke Rana, CEO of Himalayan Bank, said: “Our mission as a bank is to enable and empower the financial needs of all our customers. As more of Nepal and South Asia comes online, these needs are changing. We’re immensely pleased to be working with 2C2P, bringing the benefits of e-commerce at an early stage of adoption to the country.”

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) estimates travel and tourism contributed US$57 billion (2.4 per cent of GDP) to South Asia’s economy in 2014, forecast to increase by 6.7 per cent annually to US$116.5 billion (2.6 per cent of GDP) by 2025. In Nepal, travel and tourism amounted to 4.3 per cent of GDP in 2014, and is expected to more than double to 10 per cent of GDP by 2025. In Kazakhstan, travel and tourism reached 1.7 per cent of GDP in 2014, forecast to more than triple to 5.5 per cent of GDP by 2025. 2C2P processes billions of dollars in transactions annually by working with some of Southeast Asia’s largest e-commerce and m-commerce merchants.

About 2C2P2C2P is a leading Southeast Asian (SEA) payment services provider. It offers a number of comprehensive, omni-channel payment services tailored to the needs of financial institutions, e-commerce and m-commerce businesses and retailers. 2C2P enables payment acceptance through credit and debit cards, as well as through bank channels such as ATMs, internet banking and mobile banking. It also facilitates cash acceptance via payment counters, an important feature in SEA, a region characterized by low card penetration. With 2C2P’s payment services, online retailers and merchants can now transact with both banked and unbanked customers.

2C2P is a PCIDSS Level 1 certified company. The company processes billions of dollars in transactions for many businesses. 2C2P has offices across Southeast Asia, including in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Philippines and Thailand, as well as in Hong Kong. In 2015, 2C2P was recognized by CBInsights as one of the world’s top 25 payment startups. It is a 2013 Deloitte Technology Fast 500 Award winner, recognized as one of Asia’s fastest growing technology companies.

Himalayan Bank Limited (HBL) is one of the largest private banks of Nepal. The Bank was incorporated in 1992 by a few eminent individuals of Nepal in partnership with the Employees Provident Fund and Habib Bank Limited of Pakistan. The bank commenced its operations in January 1993. Himalayan Bank is also the first commercial bank of Nepal with most of its shares held by the private sector of Nepal. Besides commercial banking services, the bank also offers industrial and merchant banking service. With its head and corporate office at Kamaladi, Kathmandu, the bank has 44 branches. Eighteen of its branches are located inside the Kathmandu Valley while the rest are spread across the nation (Kathmandu Valley comprises Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur Districts). Besides, a branch looking exclusively at electronic cards and related products, is based in Patan, Lalitpur.
For more information, visit https://www.himalayanbank.com/

About Nepal Airlines

Established in 1958, Nepal Airlines (formerly known as Royal Nepal Airlines) is the flag carrier of Nepal. From its main base at Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu, the carrier operates international services to destinations throughout the Asia Pacific and the Middle East. In 2004, the Nepalese Government decided to sell off 49% of its stake in Nepal Airlines to the private sector.

About Air Astana

Air Astana is a joint venture between Kazakhstan’s national wealth fund Samruk Kazyna and BAE Systems, with respective shares of 51% and 49%. The airline operates a fleet of 30 Boeing 767-300ER, Boeing 757-200, Airbus A320 and Embraer E190 airlines, with average age of 5.3 years. Air Astana was the first carrier within CIS countries and Eastern Europe to receive a 4 star rating from Skytrax and also named Best Airline in Central Asia and India in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Air Astana has repeatedly passed the IATA International Safety Audit (IOSA) and is EASA part 145 certified.